WASHINGTON -- Wayne Gretzky created a sensation in a
non-hockey town when he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in
1988. Ted Leonsis is spending more than $25 million in hopes that
Jaromir Jagr can do the same for his Washington Capitals.
"I would like all the people here to go like this, please,"
said Leonsis, bruising his shoulder with his hand as if he were
wiping away dandruff. "Let's wipe the chip off our shoulders.
"I hope we can get rid of the stigma that D.C.'s not a hockey
town, that we can compete with the elite teams, that we can be a
`have' as opposed to a `have not.' I think we've answered that
question. Frankly, I don't want to hear it any more."
The biggest trade in the Capitals' 27-year history landed the
best player in the world, a hockey superstar who's headed for a
place that's never had one.
"It's going to be strange for sure," said Jagr, who has played
only for Pittsburgh in his 11-year career. "It's going to be a new
experience for sure. Hopefully I'm going to get used to it."
The Capitals will assume Jagr's $20.7 million salary over the
next two years and are expected to pay the cash-starved Pittsburgh
Penguins $4.9 million. But Leonsis thinks it makes good business
sense for a team that lost $20 million last season.
The Capitals sold 300 season tickets within three hours of
Thursday's announcement, an unprecedented run. Those fans better
get their tickets in a hurry. Leonsis said prices will go up
Monday, probably about 10 to 15 percent.
"I think we will lose less money this year than we did last
year," Leonsis said. "I would expect that if we do a good job,
Jaromir can pay for himself. This was a good business move. This
guy is a brand. Brands win. Jagr is a global brand."
Jagr had grown disgruntled with the Penguins and asked to be traded
more than once last season. He was reluctant to discuss what went
wrong in Pittsburgh during a call Thursday from the Czech Republic,
but he did say that pressure from media and fans made the situation
intolerable.
"It's tough to explain," Jagr said. "It was a lot of things.
The playoffs were like a storm to me. ... I knew if I wanted to be
close to the player I was before, I had to move on. I had great
memories for about 11 years, but it's over now. Now I'm ready to
start a new era."
Jagr said he was shocked to hear he was going to Washington
because rumors had him going to the New York Rangers. He initially
expressed concerns about the Capitals defensive style to a Czech
reporter, but later downplayed those remarks.
"Everybody changes. I change," Jagr said. "It's different
hockey than we were playing in the '90s, '80s. It's harder. Every
detail is important. I understand after my experience, that with
defense you can win."
The team gives the Capitals the two players who have scored the
most goals in the NHL since the start of the 1993-94 season: Jagr
(346) and Peter Bondra (305).
Since buying the Capitals in 1999, Leonsis had tirelessly worked
to attract attention to his team. The club's national profile is
almost nonexistent, despite an appearance in the Stanley Cup finals
in 1998, and it has struggled to attract even modest attention in
Washington, where there is mass loyalty for the NFL's Redskins and
little else.
Thus the Gretzky comparison, which also occurred to Capitals
president Dick Patrick.
"L.A. wasn't really a hockey town. It kind of put it on the
map," Patrick said. "There are players who attract the casual
fan. Jagr seems to have that sort of magic here. The e-mails are
saying, `I hated this guy, but now I love him.' "
The Capitals lost in their bids to sign several prominent free
agents this month, including Jeremy Roenick, Pierre Turgeon and
Doug Weight.
One of the biggest surprises of the deal was that the Capitals
didn't have to give up a player from their current roster. Jagr and
defenseman Frantisek Kucera were acquired for three minor league
prospects: Kris Beech, Michal Sivek and Ross Lupaschuk.
General manager George McPhee said he initially felt the
Capitals wouldn't get Jagr because the asking price was too high.
The price came down when the Penguins called back this week.
"My position was I just didn't want to take anything out of the
lineup to do this," McPhee said. "I didn't want to tear our team
down to bring this player in."
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